Many times it is necessary to have a safety device for a child while shopping for weekly or daily staple goods. Such a safety device should be easily carried and require little effort to operate. Safety and security devices are well known in the prior art. The devices or harnesses disclosed in the prior art, however, are not particularly intended as a child safety device to protect against falling and are not well adapted for use when a guardian is shopping and must leave the child unattended for a moment in order to select or remove merchandise from a store shelf to a modern grocery cart. A need exists for a child safety restraining device which can be, easily and conveniently, attached to a grocery cart allowing the guardian the freedom to shop and move about without having to continually monitor the activities of the child. It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide a new and greater safety restraining device for small children, incorporating the utmost safety features, ease and affordability. Some examples of the prior art safety and security devices and harnesses and other structured for supporting articles, are set forth in the patents briefly described below:
The Mandrecchia U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,607 shows a harness for small children adapted to secure a child to an independent structure such as a shopping cart. The harness further has a strap unit and tether unit to lock the child to the shopping cart. The harness of the Mandrecchia patent safely secures the child from abduction and does protect the child from moving about in the seat, however the harness with tether and locking means is an encumbrance for most guardians.
The Thinnes U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,589 also shows a security device for children which attaches to a conventional shopping cart and restricts the distance a child can wander from the parent or guardian. The harness further has a reel attached to the shopping cart by a lock. The purpose of the harness is to safely secure the child from abduction, however the Thinnes patent is "bulky" and contains a locking means which renders the harness useless if the lock becomes inoperative. Further, the Thinnes patent does not restrict the movement of the child within the seat of the shopping cart.
The Zimmerman U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,017 illustrates a child's safety harness for use in crowded places with high density of population. The safety harness is for use when the child is actively moving about and not secured within a seating position.
The Kay U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,154 and the Moorman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,359 discloses a safety vest or harness for pets or small children. The harness is a panel of flexible material shaped to pass around and underneath the body of the animal or child. The harness is used in connection with a conventional automobile. Although the child is safely restrained in an automobile, it has little value as a safety device for the modern shopping cart.
The Lewis U.S. Pat. No. 2,208,990 shows a safety belt with a reinforcing structure meant to fit around the body in a manner similar to a harness; however the device does not surround to body to secure it within a structure.
The Weis U.S. Pat. No. 758,123 illustrates a harness used in connection with a child's carriage. The front body of the harness is secured around the upper back and side straps extend downward to hook to the carriage. However, the harness was used to restrain a child within a moving carriage during the early 1900's and is not readily adaptable to a modern shopping cart.